Remake Ordered by NBC for 'The Munsters'

With so many adaptations poised for the small screen on the next few years, it's only a matter of time before someone picked up The Munsters - which NBC did.

For those who don't know what this show is, 'The Munsters' is a 60's sitcom that centers around the life of the Munsters, a monster family. The odd family, despite their obvious difference from the rest of the community, tries to live like typical working-class Americans.

This remake will be written and executive produced by Bryan Fuller. The new show is expected to be "have a darker and less campy feel" than the original. He first pitched in the idea last year, but the network passed.

It is notable that Fuller conceived ABC's 'Pushing Daisies', whose pilot won the Emmys four years ago. If he keeps the same imagination that propelled the show to success, there might just a hope for 'The Munsters'.

The Hollywood Reporter adds that NBC is also planning in turning it into a "visually spectacular one-hour drama". It will delve deeper into the origins of the Munster family, and their eventual journey to their present home of 1313 Mockingbird Lane.

The 1960s CBS show's release coincided back then with the similarly-themed 'The Addams Family', but with less ratings. It was cancelled two years later with a total of 70 episode.

However, the black-and-white romp gained a cult following after decades of syndication, which eventually spawned a spin-off series ('The Munsters Today' in the 80s) and several films (including 'Munster, Go Home' and 'The Munsters' Revenge').

'Munsters' is just one of the three projects that peacock network's going to re-imagine for primetime TV. Fuller is also cooking up a 'Hannibal Lecter' series which will base more on the Thomas Harris novels, while 'House' producers Garrett Lerner and Russel Friend are developing the nth re-working of the literary classic 'Frankenstein'.

It is always a gamble to produce a remake rather than put out an entirely original series, which rests on how the remake measures up or improves the original. Recently, ABC's modernization of 'Charlie's Angels' was criticized heavily for bad acting and writing, thereby cancelling the series after only 4 episodes.